Sergio Ramos will leave Real Madrid when his contract expires at the end of the month, the Spanish giants have announced. They’ve scheduled a press conference for today (Thursday), labelling it as an “institutional act of tribute and farewell”.
The experienced defender arrived to Madrid from Sevilla at the age of 19 and declared his intention to become a legend and a captain of the club. He has undoubtedly accomplished his mission, winning five La Liga titles, four Champions League trophies, and two Copa del Rey trophies. He played a total of 671 games in the famous white shirt, scoring 101 goals and producing 40 assists over 16 years. On top of that, he also won two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup with Spain, for which he accumulated 180 caps.
But as explained by Spanish football expert Guillem Balague for BBC, Ramos became a power at Real Madrid through his successes and notable leadership qualities, and president Florentino Perez doesn’t want players whose influence comes anywhere near his own. He got rid of Cristiano Ronaldo and he wanted Ramos out of the picture too, but he hasn’t been able to do it until now.
There were talks between the player and the club about a new contract, and the club offered a one-year deal, but Ramos wanted two. And there it was – a perfect excuse for Perez to finally cut the cords. The imminent departure of the 35-year-old from the Santiago Bernabeu has widely been perceived as the end of an era, and rightly so.
As for his potential destination this summer, nothing is certain at the moment. There have been reports of Sevilla planning to offer him a five-year deal to return to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, but Fabrizio Romano has dismissed those claims, adding that Ramos is currently in talks with another club.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1405286592286134272
Manchester United, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have also been mentioned in that aspect in recent months.
